Apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials



July 14, 1925. 1,546,285

J. B. KIRK APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS Fi e y 2, 1920 s Sheets-Sheet 1 W/T/VESSES llVl/E/VTUR ATTORNEYS July 14, 1925.

1,546,285 J. KIRK APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS Filed July 2, 1920 36heets-Shget -2 WITNESSES ATTORNEYS July .14, 1925.-

J. B. KIRK APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS Fi y 2, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 //v l/E/VTOR J 2511117 ATTORNEYS WITNESSES w 1% ANN Q \NN. WQ MN Q Q Q l \v 5 I A E Y Nw WW N.

' chamber 10. the

State of Kansas,

Patented July 14, 1925.

JAY BUCHAN King, or IOLA, KANSAS.

' APPARATUS roe THE DiSTILLATIQN or cAnBouAc-Eoos MATERIALS.

.. Application filed July 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAY BUOHAN KIRK, a citizen of the United States, and-a resident of Iola, in the county of Allen and the have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for the Distillation of Carbonaceous Materials, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials and has reference more particularly to an apparatus in which liquid carbonaceous materials are destructively distilled while the carbon formed by the heating process is continuously scraped from the metal heating surfaces. A

An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for the continuous distillation of liquid carbonaceous materials. Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the class indicated in whichcarbon formed during the distillation process is continuously scraped from the heating surfaces so as to prevent overheating and failure of said surfaces.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which it is understood the drawings illustrate only one form of the inven tion and inwhich- Figurel is an end View of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a. sectional plan view of the apparatus on the line 2-2 of Figure 4. I

Figure 3 is'a side elevation of the apparatus with parts broken away to disclose the construction.

Figure A; is a sectional view through the apparatus on the line 44 of Figure 3.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, 10 indicates a combustion chamber formed by side walls 11, bottom 12 and a top 13, preferably in the form-of an arch. A heating chamber 141 is provided on each side of the combustion chamber 10, said heating chamber being formed by one of the walls 11, a second wall 15 spaced apart from said wall 11 and an arch shaped roof 16. A series of openings 17 leads from the combustion chamber 10 into the heating chamber 14 so that when gas, oil or other fuel is burned in said combustion hot products of combustion will flow through the openings 17 into the heating chambers 14. The

bottom 12 is preferably made in two orv shoulders being adapted 1920. Serial No. 393,515.

more sections supported at their outside edges by shoulders 18 formed on the side walls 11 and at their inner edges by a par tition 19, said bottom 12 beingpreferably spaced a considerable distance from the ground 20.

Somewhat below the bottom 12, Shoulders 21 are formed on the inside surfaces of the walls 11 and on the partition 19, said to support horizontal plates 22. Thus, flues or ducts '23 areformed by thewalls 11, the partition 19, the bottom 12 and the plates 22 and openings 2 1. are provided in the walls 11 so that the hot products'of combustion flow from the heating chamber 1d into the fines 23 and out a. stack ar located at one end of the apparatus. Below the plates 22, a preheating chamber 25 is-formed and openings 26 are provided in the plates-22-which W1 1 allow some of the products or combos tion to flow from the fines 23 into the chambers 25, said chambers 25"being also connected to the stack 2%.

The chambers 10, 14:, 23 and 25 all have preferably a considerable length and ase ries of vertical pipes 27 is positioned in each of the chambers 14, said pipes being connected at their lower ends tank 28, the upper ends of said pipes passing through the arched roofs 16 of the'heating chambers 14:. A vapor chamber 29 of a larger diameter than the pipes 27 is connected to the upper end of each pipe an the area of said vapor chamber 29 is prefto a horizontal.

erably greater than the heating area of the pipe 27 for the purpose of refluxing vapors.

A horizontal preheating pipe 30 is provided in each of the chambers 25 and one end of each pipe 30 extends beyond the ap paratus, the ends of said pipes being connected by a pipe 31 which in turn is connected to a pipe 32 leading from any source of liquid carbonaceous materials, such as oil, tar, etc. The ends of the pipes 30 opposite the pipe 32 are connected by pipes 33 and 34 to the ends of the horizontal cylindrical tanks 28 and a cock 35 is provided on each of the pipes 33 so that the flow of carbonaceous materials into the tanks 28 can be controlled.

A metal V-shaped trough 36 extends longitudinally through each of the cylindrical tanks 28, said trough being connected at its upper widest end to the tank 28 so that the tween its sides, and a semi-cylindrical sec tion 37 is provided at the lower end of the.

aceous material is admitted to the tank 28' outside the trough 36 and a series of holes 39 is provided in the upper ends of the trough 36 so that the oils can flow into said trough 36 and rise upwardly in the pipes 27 to a predetermined height. One end of each shaft'40 on which is mounted the screw conveyors, passes out through the end of theappa-ratus and is journaledin a stuffing box 41 which may be. water-cooled to prevent undue heating to the packing ma terials in saidstuffing box. A pipe 42 is secured to the end of the tank 48 adjacent the end of the screw conveyor 38 and said pipe 42 terminates in Y pipes 43, each of which is provided with a valve 44. These .mined point, preferably above the level of pipes 43 may be connected to suitable closed receivers, not shown, for alternately catchiiig the carbon. and other sediment expelled by the screw conveyors 38 as the shafts 40 are rotated. A pipe 45.is secured at the upper end of each ,vapor chamber 29 and pipes 46 connect the pipes 45 and lead to a com- Inon vapo'rpipe 47 which serves to conduct the vapors driven off during the distillation process to a suitable condenser of any desired type.

During the distillation process, considerable free-carbon will deposit on the inside surface of the vertical pipes 27 and if this carbon is not removed it. will cause local overheating and subsequent failure of said pipes. In order to prevent the accumulation of carbon, I provide a scraper 48 which .is described in] my Patent No. 1,371,792,

dated March 15, 1921, said scraper-having sections which resiliently press against the walls of the tubes 27 so as te readily accommodate itself to any slight irregularity in said'walls. A rack 49 is secured to said scraper 48, said rack having teeth 50 which engage a pinion 51 mounted on a shaft 52, said shaft being journaled at one end in a bearing 53 on the inside wall of the vapor chamber 29, and at the other end in a stuffing box 54 which is preferably water-cooled to prevent injury to the packing thereof due to overheating. The shaft 52 is connected to any reciprocating source of power so that the rotation thereof is reversed at the highest and at the lowest point of travel of the scraper 48. At the highest point of the scraper 48, the pipe 45 receives the upper end-of the rack 49. Thus, as the scraper 49 is recipro'cated vertically all carbon is removed from the inside surface of the pipes 27. settling to the troughs 36 where it is ex; pelled by the screw conveyors .38 into the pipes 42. In order to provide ready access to the lower ends of the pipes 27 so that same can 'be cut from the'tanks 28 and new pipes re-welded in their place, I provide openings 55 in the Walls 15, said openings being normally closedduring operation of the apparatus by gates not shown. The tanks 28 are protected by a covering 56'of brick work or the like. .It' is understood that the'apparatus may be operated at a pressure greater or less than atmospheric pressure.

In operation, the liquid carbonaceous material is introduced through the pipes 32 and 31 into the preheating pipes 30 where its temperature is raised considerably by the out-flowing products of combustion. After flowing through'tlie pipes 30, the material flows through the pipes 33 and 34 intothe cylindrical tanks 28 outside the troughs 36 and by passing through the openings 39 in the sides of said troughs, rises in th vertical pipes 27 to a predeterthe shaft 52 so'as to aid-in the lubrication of said shaft. Any combustible material isburned in the combustion-chamber; 10 and the products of combustion pass through the openings 17 into the heating chambers 14 through the openings 24 into the fines 23 and up the stack 24. Some of the products of combustion from flue 23 flow through th openings 26 into the. preheating chamber 25 and then out the stack 24. The .passage of the hot products. of combustion around the pipes 27 raises the temperature of the carbonaceous materials to the distillation point and'vapors rise into the vapor chamber 29, passing out through pipes 45,.

46 and 47 to a suitable condenser.

The free carbon formed during the distillation process and collecting on'the inside surface of the pipes 27 is-scraped from said surfaces by the vertical reciprocating scraper 48 so that said carbon and other sediment falls into the trough 36 and is expelled by the rotating screw conveyor-38 into the pipes 42 and 43 so asto enter residue receivers not shown. The sciaper 48 is reciprocated vertically by the rack 49 engaging the pinion 51', said pinion being mounted on a shaft 52 whose rotation is automatically reversed atthe upperand lower extreme position of said scraper 48.

In order to prevent the foreign matter from collecting on the walls of the tubular. member 37 and which is intended to be removed by the spiral 38 I employ a plurality of fingers scraping the walls of the tubular member and operated through a moving part ofthe device as shown and claimed in my .former Patent No. 1,455,623, granted May trated, since, manifestly, the same can be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In anapparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous material, a combustion chamber, a heating chamber at one side of the combustion chamber and communicating therewith, a flue below the combustion chamber and communicating with the heating chamber, a preheating chamber below the fiue'and communicating therewith, a vertical pipe in the heatin chamber, a tank below the said pipe and communicating therewith, and a pipe in the preheating chamber and connected with a supply pipe and said tank.

2. In an apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous material, a combustion chamber, aheatmgchamber at one side of the com;

bustion chamber and communicating therewith, a flue below the combustion chamber and communicating with the heating chamber, a preheatingchamber below the flue and communicating therewith, a vertical pipein the heating chamber, a tank below the lower end of said pipe, and communicating therewith, a pipe in the preheating chamber and connected with a supply pipe and said tank, and a vertically reciprocating scraper in the pipe in this heating chamber.

3. In an apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials, a combustion chamber, a heating chamber connected to said combustion chamber, a pipe positioned in said heating chamber adapted to be heated by products of combustion from said combustion chamber, means for introducing liquidcarbonaceous materials into said pipe,

means for preheating said carbonaceous materials with the products of combustion before said materials enter said tioned below said combustion chamber and between said heating chambers, a preheating chamber positioned below said fine and between said heating chambers, a plurality of pipes positioned in each heatin chamber, each p1 e having its axis substantlally vertiorizontal cylindrical tank connecting the lower ends of said pipes, means for preheat-ing carbonaceous materials in said cated below the combustion chamber, a preheating chamber below the fine and communicating therewith, a chamber at one side of the combustion chamber communicating with the flue through the combustion chamber, a'horizontal tank below the last mentioned chamber, a plurality of vertical pipes having their lower ends secured to the tank, a trough in the tank below the ends of said pipe and in communication with theta-nk, vapor chambers with which the upper end of the vertical pipes communicate, and apipe in the preheating chamber and in communication with a supply pipe and with the tank in the chamber located at "one side of the combustion chamber.

6. In an apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials, a combustion chamher, a flue below the bottom of the said chamber, and communicating with a stack, a preheating chamber below the flue and communicating therewith, a chamber at one side of the combustion chamber and communicating therewith and with the said flue,

"-a horizontal tank below the chamber, a plutank, a pipe in the preheating chamber and connected with a supply pipe and with the tank, vapor chambers with which the upper ends of the verticalpipes communicate, and

a scraping device in each vertical pipe.

7. In an apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials, a combustion cham'- ber, a flue below the bottom of the said chamber and connected with a stack, a preheating chamber below the fiue and communicating therewith, a chamber at one side of the-combustion chamber and communicating therewith and with the flue, a horizontal tank below the chamber, a plurality of vertical pipes in the said chamber and having their lower ends communicating wlth the supply pipe and with the tank, a vapor chamber connected with the upper end of each'vertical pipe, a scraping device in each vertical pipe, and a conveyor in the trough. '8, In an apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials, a heatin chamber, a tank at the bottom of the cham er, a plutank, a trough in the-tank, a pipe-in the preheating chamber and connected with a rality of vertical pipes in the heating chamber andhaving their lower ends secured to the tank, means connected with the upper ends of the vertical pipes for receiving the vapors, a scraping device in each vertical pipe, a trough in the tank below the. lower ends of said pipes and communicating with said tank, a conveyor in the trough, and means for supplying a carbonaceous material to the tank. I

9. In apparatus for 'the distillation of carbonaceous materials, a heating chamber, a tank at the bottom of the chamber, a -pluralit'y of vertical pipes in the heating chamthe upperends of the'vertical pipes for re-' ceiving the vapors, a scraping device in each vertical pipe, a V-shaped trou h having openingsin its sides and provic ed with a cylindrical bottom portion arranged in the tank, a screw conveyor in the cylindrical portion of the-trough, and mea'ns for supplying carbonaceous material'tojthe tank.

JAY BUoHAuKmK. 

